eight of the republican governors elected or re-elected that night had ties to the group. >> guess what, i'm going to be governor of ohio. >> there's going to be a lot of news, and a lot of observers, that say that we made history. >> a clean sweep for republicans! >> and a star was born that election night -- wisconsin's new governor, a son of alec, named scott walker. >> wisconsin is open for business! >> i've known scott walker, the governor of wisconsin for the better part of 20 years. and scott is a classic career politician. and i don't say that in a negative way. >> journalist and wisconsinite john nichols has tracked scott walker's career since the '90s when walker was a state legislator and an alec member. >> and in 2010 he ran not presenting himself as an alec alumni or as an ally of big corporations or big business people outside the state. he ran a very down-home campaign. >> this is my lunch. i pack a brown bag each day so i can save some money to spend on the more important things in life, like senng my kids to college. >> nichols says that despite the folksy image, in the